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the antiquities of the jews-1-第303章

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words are in Josephus; than that he would not then put him to
death; which he performed; nor was Solomon under any obligation
to spare such a traitor。

BOOK 8 FOOTNOTES

(1) This execution upon Joab; as a murderer; by slaying him; even
when he had taken sanctuary at God's altar; is perfectly
agreeable to the law of Moses; which enjoins; that 〃if a man come
presumptuously upon his neighbor to slay him with guile; thou
shalt take him from mine altar that he die;〃 Exodus 21:14。

(2) This building of the walls of Jerusalem; soon after David's
death; illustrates the conclusion of the 51st Psalm; where David
prays; 〃Build thou the walls of Jerusalem;〃 they being; it seems;
unfinished or imperfect at that time。 See ch。 6。 sect。 1; and ch。
1。 sect。 7; also 1 Kings 9:15。

(3) It may not be amiss to compare the daily furniture of king
Solomon's table; here set down; and 1 Kings 4;22; 23; with the
like daily furniture of Nehemiah the governor's table; after the
Jews were come back from Babylon; and to remember withal; that
Nehemiah was now building the walls of Jerusalem; and maintained;
more than usual; above a hundred and fifty considerable men every
day; and that; because the nation was then very poor; at his own
charges also; without laying any burden upon the people at all。
〃Now that which was prepared for me daily was one ox and six
choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me; and once in ten
days store of all sorts of wine; and yet for all this required
not the bread of the governor; because the bondage was heavy upon
this people;〃 Nehemiah 5:18: see the whole context; ver。 14…19。
Nor did the governor's usual allowance of forty shekels of silver
a…day; ver。 15; amount to 45 a day; nor to 1800 a…year。 Nor does
it indeed appear that; under the judges; or under Samuel the
prophet; there was any such public allowance to those governors
at all。 Those great charges upon the public for maintaining
courts came in with kings; as God foretold they would; 1 Samuel
8:11…18。

(4) Some pretended fragments of these books of conjuration of
Solomon are still extant in Fabricius's Cod。 Pseudepigr。 Vet。
Test。 page 1054; though I entirely differ from Josephus in this
his supposal; that such books and arts of Solomon were parts of
that wisdom which was imparted to him by God in his younger days;
they must rather have belonged to such profane but curious arts
as we find mentioned Acts 19:13…20; and had been derived from the
idolatry and superstition of his heathen wives and concubines in
his old age; when he had forsaken God; and God had forsaken him;
and given him up to demoniacal delusions。 Nor does Josephus's
strange account of the root Baara (Of the War; B。 VIII。 ch。 6。
sect。 3) seem to be other than that of its magical use in such
conjurations。 As for the following history; it confirms what
Christ says; Matthew 12;27 〃If I by Beelzebub cast out demons; by
whom do your Sons cast them out?〃

(5) These epistles of Solomon and Hiram are those in 1 Kings
5:3…9; and; as enlarged; in 2 Chronicles 2:3…16; but here given
us by Josephus in his own words。

(6) What Josephus here puts into his copy of Hiram's epistle to
Solomon; and repeats afterwards; ch。 5。 sect。 3; that Tyre was
now an island; is not in any of the three other copies; viz。 that
of the Kings; Chronicles; or Eusebius; nor is it any other; I
suppose; than his own conjectural paraphrase; for when I; many
years ago; inquired into this matter; I found the state of this
famous city; and of the island whereupon it stood; to have been
very different at different times。 The result of my inquiries in
this matter; with the addition of some later improvements; stands
thus: That the best testimonies hereto relating; imply; that
Paketyrus; or Oldest Tyre; was no other than that most ancient
smaller fort or city Tyre; situated on the continent; and
mentioned in Joshua 19:29; out of which the Canaanite or
Phoenician inhabitants were driven into a large island; that lay
not far off in the sea; by Joshua: that this island was then
joined to the continent at the present remains of Paketyrus; by a
neck of land over against Solomon's cisterns; still so called;
and the city's fresh water; probably; was carried along in pipes
by that neck of land; and that this island was therefore; in
strictness; no other than a peninsula; having villages in its
fields; Ezekiel 26:6; and a wall about it; Amos 1:10; and the
city was not of so great reputation as Sitlon for some ages: that
it was attacked both by sea and land by Salmanasser; as Josephus
informs us; Antiq。 B。 IX。 ch。 14。 sect。 2; and afterwards came to
be the metropolis of Phoenicia; and was afterwards taken and
destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar; according to the numerous Scripture
prophecies thereto relating; Isaiah 23。; Jeremiah 25:22; 27:3;
47:4; Ezekiel 26。; 27。; 28。: that seventy years after that
destruction by Nebuchadnezzar; this city was in some measure
revived and rebuilt; Isaiah 23:17; 18; but that; as the prophet
Ezekiel had foretold; chap。 26:3…5; 14; 27: 34; the sea arose
higher than before; till at last it over flowed; not only the
neck of land; but the main island or peninsula itself; and
destroyed that old and famous city for ever: that; however; there
still remained an adjoining smaller island; once connected to Old
Tyre itself by Hiram; which was afterwards inhabited; to which
Alexander the Great; with incredible pains; raised a new bank or
causeway: and that it plainly appears from Ifaundreh; a most
authentic eye…witness; that the old large and famous city; on the
original large island; is now laid so generally under water; that
scarce more than forty acres of it; or rather of that adjoining
small island remain at this day; so that; perhaps; not above a

hundredth part of the first island and city is now above water。
This was foretold in the same prophecies of Ezekiel; and
according to them; as Mr。 Maundrell distinctly observes; these
poor remains of Old Tyre are now 〃become like the top of a rock;
a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea。〃

(7) Of the temple of Solomon here described by Josephus; in this
and the following sections of this chapter; see my description of
the temples belonging to this work; ch。 13; These small rooms; or
side chambers; seem to have been; by Josephus's description; no
less than twenty cubits high a piece; otherwise there must have
been a large interval between one and the other that was over it;
and this with double floors; the one of six cubits distance from
the floor beneath it; as 1 Kings 6:5

(8) Josephus says here that the cherubims were of solid gold; and
only five cubits high; while our Hebrew copies (1 Kings 6;23; 28)
say they were of the olive tree; and the LXXX。 of the cypress
tree; and only overlaid with gold; and both agree they were ten
cubits high。 I suppose the number here is falsely transcribed;
and that Josephus wrote ten cubits also。

(9) As for these two famous pillars; Jachin and Booz; their
height could be no more than eighteen cubits; as here; and 1
Kings 7:15; 2 Kings 25:17; Jeremiah 3:21; those thirty…five
cubits in 2 Chronicles 3:15; being contrary to all the rules of
architecture in the world。

(10) The round or cylindrical lavers of four cubits in diameter;
and four in height; both in our copies; 1 Kings 7:38; 39; and
here in Josephus; must have contained a great deal more than
these forty baths; which are always assigned them。 Where the
error lies is hard to say: perhaps Josephus honestly followed his
copies here; though they had been corrupted; and he was not able
to restore the true reading。 In the mean time; the forty baths
are probably the true quantity contained in each laver; since
they went upon wheels; and were to be drawn by the Levites about
the courts of the priests for the washings they were designed
for; and had they held much more; they would have been too heavy
to have been so drawn。

(11) Here Josephus gives us a key to his own language; of right
and left hand in the tabernacle and temple; that by the right
hand he means what is against our left; when we suppose ourselves
going up from the east gate of the courts towards the tabernacle
or temple themselves; and so vice versa; whence it follows; that
the pillar Jachin; on the right hand of the temple was on the
south; against our left hand; and Booz on the north; against our
right hand。 Of the golden plate on the high priest's forehead
that was in being in the days of Josephus; and a century or two
at least later; seethe note on Antiq。 B。 III。 ch。 7。 sect。 6。

(12) When Josephus here says that the floor of the outmost temple
or court of the Gentiles was with vast labor raised to be even;
or of equal height; with the floor of the inner; or court of the
priests; he must mean this in a gross estimation only; for he and
all others agree; that the inner temple; or court of the priests;
was a few cubits more elevated than the middle court; the court
of Israel; and that much more was the court of the priests
elevated several cubits above that outmost court; since the court
of Israel was lower than the one and higher than the other。 The
Septuagint say that 〃they prepared t
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